296 BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 



such woods, but on sunny spots grows the rare and robust 

 Swertia 335, with many litmus-coloured flowers, the panicle 



Traders. Nothing remains now but a little elevation of the place where 

 the chimney stood. 



" Seeing so many paths I made directly for the village, which looked 

 pretty neat ; the lodges were constructed of thick poles, covered with 

 new rush mats in the shape of our house-roofs. A great number of men, 

 women, and children surrounded me as soon as I had dismounted in the 

 village, but contrary to what I was used to, the tone in which I was 

 spoken to, by two or three saucy-looking young men, especially by a half- 

 blooded ferocious youngster, did not please me at all. "When I asked for 

 the road to Colville, he said he did not know, demanding in the same 

 harsh voice sundry things, especially tobacco with every possible ill 

 grace. At my refusal he changed his language to a still more offending 

 manner which brought me a little in harness ; the more so as the rest 

 not possessing the same boldness, joined in a kind of sneer peculiar to 

 the Indian only. I leaned on the neck of my horse, holding the reins id 

 my hand, keeping myself quiet, when the former insolent fellow under 

 took to examine my saddle-bags, not daring, however, to take them down ; 

 while the others felt the mane of my horse, whose fat condition seemed 

 to excite their appetite for horse-flesh, which these Indians are very fond 

 of. This was too much for me ; I lifted up the bear-skin that covered 

 my pistol-holsters, took out the pistols, and placed them in my belt. 

 This manoeuvre succeeded, and brought them at once to better grace. 

 They imagined me to be, in their own saying, * a poor fellow without a 

 gun.' The insolent half-breed lost more of his tact than the others ; he 

 stepped back amazed, crying out • Stem !' (what !) pleading some igno- 

 rance to hide his fear. For this, I took out a pistol, levelling it at him 

 with a doubtful laughing mien, imitating suddenly the sound of the 

 report of a gun with my full voice. At this he shrunk visibly ; b e was 

 now laughed at by some boys. Without looking at any one I swung myself 

 into the saddle to be off. Three or four came forth now to show me the 

 road, for which I gave them a little tobacco. 



" I was glad to find myself alone again. The afternoon was beautiful, and 

 I enjoyed the picturesque scenery along Spokan River, the path leading right 

 above along the high banks of the same. At sunset I struck camp under 

 a gigantic(o) Abies bahamea near the river. I made a shelter of a blanket, 

 and stretched on my bear skin, I mused over the changes of the day, and 



(a) In this tree were sundry marks hewn and cut. Amongst others, 1 

 found the initials (D. Dgls.), which I take to be those of the late Mr. 

 David Douglas, who made a summer excursion to this place. 



